As expected, Columbia County school board members voted Tuesday to roll back the school millage rate, which will reduce fall tax bills for county property owners.

Trustees voted to set the tax rate at 18.3 mills, a slight reduction from the 18.59 mill rate, which was set in July 2013 when board members voted to raise the rate a full mill to offset cuts in state funding to local school districts.

The reduction for this year will result in about a $12 decrease in property taxes on a house valued at $100,000.

By the time you read this, Columbia County’s District 3 seat will likely be empty once again.

Mack Taylor, who captured the seat in December by defeating the General Election frontrunner, Trip Derryberry, is expected to make his resignation from the seat official this week, after having served only seven months in office.

District 3 voters have another special election to look forward to with what appears to be a field of at least five candidates waiting in the wings to take Taylor’s place.

The five men who have declared interest in running for the Columbia County Commission District 3 seat may have a wide and varied array of backgrounds and experience, but the do share one interest — getting a handle in the county’s rapid growth.

But only recently did the ability to contact emergency services via text message come to Columbia County.

“A lot of people didn’t realize (you couldn’t text 911) because they think it’s readily available,” said Columbia County sheriff’s Lt. John Sherman, who oversees the 911 Communications Center in Appling. ‘‘But there was no format for it.”

The following accounts were taken from Columbia County Sheriff’s Office incident reports:

Man forced to cash checks

A man told authorities Thursday that he was kidnapped in Augusta and forced to cash checks at gunpoint.

A manager of the Publix on Furys Ferry Road in Martinez said he saw a man being chased by another outside the store. The manager said the man appeared to be searching for something on a hillside next to the store. When the deputy saw the man, he started walking away.